


Sit, Speak, Stay

by Gedry



Category: Lady and the Tramp (1955), Supernatural
Genre: Bobby is a beaver, Crossover, Dogs, M/M, Puppy Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 04:18:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12762981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gedry/pseuds/Gedry
Summary: Shmoopy retelling of Lady and the Tramp for a challenge from 2011





	Sit, Speak, Stay

[ Sit, Speak, Stay]()

 

Castiel doesn’t remember life before he came here. His family, the loving couple with whom he resides, often speak of the day he was brought home and the brightly colored box he popped out of just a little too early. But that was a few years ago, when he was such a little pup that he hardly remembers it at all. 

It’s not something he focuses on much. Anything that happened before this couldn’t possibly be important. This is his home and his family, the warmth of the fireplace and the softness of his bed, the sweet smells of the kitchen where the lady often cooks and the man slips him scraps from their plates after dinner, the well groomed backyard where he suns himself in the afternoons and chases his ball; all these things make up the fulfilling and wonderful life that Castiel lives. 

He wants for nothing, even though his neighbors seem to disagree. 

“Aren’t you lonely?” Sam asks as they snuffle through the bottom of the short fence that separates their yards. 

“Why would I be lonely?” Castiel asks. “I have my family.”

“But you don’t have a partner,” Sam presses as he finally leans his head over the fence to touch noses in greeting. His long ears drag the ground as he dips low enough to get down to Castiel’s level. 

“I don’t need one,” Castiel says as he shakes himself all over. One of his ears flips over to the other side of his head and he snorts as Sam nudges it back into the correct position. “I have everything I could ever need. I’m a faithful companion to my family. That’s enough for them and for me.”

Sam rolls his eyes before bellowing loudly and jerking back over the fence. Castiel is curious by the scuffling he hears going on from the other side of the fence. He places hiplaces s front paws up on the fence and peers over the wood to find Sam leaning over his much smaller playmate and house partner. 

“You’re a sneak,” Sam rumbles as he playfully chews on Gabriel’s exposed belly. The Scottish Terrier squirms and grumbles happily under the attention. 

“You love me,” Gabriel huffs back as he escapes from Sam’s big feet and wagging tail. “You’re a gigggant drooling nose with a dog attached to it.”

“I’m a bloodhound, Gabriel,” Sam chuckles as he licks a stripe down the terrier’s back. “It’s not my fault you smell better than anything else in the whole wide world.”

Castiel watches them carefully. He’s less than impressed with their interactions. Gabriel’s now very dirty and will certainly require a bath soon from where Sam rolled him on the ground. Sam doesn’t seem to mind him rubbing against his belly and making him dirty too. Castiel does his best not to get dirty, his family prefers him clean and when his feet aren’t too dirty he’s sometimes allowed to lounge on the sofa next to his people. Besides, nothing smells better than his family, and Castiel doesn’t care at all for the whole wide world. Who needs it? He’s happy right here.

There’s a soft whine from the back gate of their yard and Sam’s head immediately shoots around toward the sound. He runs over excitedly on gangly legs. “Dean!” he barks happily. 

There’s a scuffling noise and Castiel’s eyes widen as a board moves on the fence and a silver haired dog of no discernable breed squeezes his way through to nuzzle against Sam and Gabriel with a grin. 

“How you doing Sammy,” Dean asks as he wanders around sniffing the grass. “They treating you good here?”

“It’s great, Dean,” Sam says as he prances happily. “I’m happy.”

Dean shakes his unkempt fur all over before commenting “That’s all that matters kid, I’m glad I could help.”

The strange dog turns to Gabriel then, leaning over him in a way that feels threatening as he asks, “You taking care of my boy, scruffy?”

“He’s my boy now, mutt,” Gabriel says back as his fur puffs up. “We take of each other.”

Castiel lets out a low growl of warning. Gabriel has been his friend for the whole of his lifetime. If this strange dog wants to harm him Castiel will protect his friend even if the idea of such an interaction seems improper. 

“Well hello, Gorgeous,” Dean whistles. “Where have you been my whole life?”

“I’m not supposed to speak to strange dogs,” Castiel blurts and then winces at how utterly stupid that must have sounded. Something about this strange silver scruffy animal makes him nervous. 

He jerks back when Dean leaps up to put his front paws on the opposite side of the fence. “I’m Dean,” the dog says with cocky look about his face. “I’m four years old, I like hot meals and safe places to sleep, I enjoy a good car chase now and then. I’m the neighborhood watch-dog so to speak. I handle the streets around here and help out when I can. There, now you know me. I’m not a strange dog anymore. Want to fill me in on who you happen to be?”

“I’m Castiel,” he finds himself speaking before he really thinks about it. “This is my home.”

Dean leans forward until he’s pressed his nose close to Castiel’s ear and inhales. “You smell as good as you look, Gorgeous. Want to get to know me a little better?”

“Absolutely not,” Castiel snaps, growling as he jerks away and heads back to the house in a huff. 

As he walks away he hears Dean murmur, “Docked tail too. Cockers are always so dramatic. Never had a chocolate before.”

That dog is a menace and Castiel hopes he never sees him again.

*****

The puppy is a surprise; Castiel hears them call it a baby. He’s never seen one before. Gabriel warned him that things would change now. He told Castiel that his family having a baby was what led his people to bringing home Sam one afternoon, so that he had someone to play with. 

Castiel hates that idea. So he spends as much of his time as he can trying to convince his family that he’s perfectly content without another pet. He _doesn’t_ want to share his space. Truth be told, he’s the runt of his litter and his brothers and sisters had forced him away from his mother far too early. Castiel remembers being hungry, cold, and rejected by dogs that were supposed to love him. He’s not likely to allow it to happen again. 

But he misses the attention they showered upon him before the baby came. He misses playing fetch and being fed under the table. He misses being pet and cuddled. Now when he goes too close to the baby, he’s shoved away and the people say “No!” 

He feels unwanted. 

Though it’s a much better situation than what happens when his family has to leave suddenly. The man’s aunt comes to take care of the baby and she brings with her two Siamese cats, Meg and Ruby. 

Castiel has no particular issues with cats one way or the other, but these two are demons. They harass him at every opportunity, pulling on his ears, smacking him on the butt, scratching at his nose. It’s horrendous. Castiel is a good dog, he loves his family and he finds he spends more and more of his time hovering near the baby in order to make certain that the horrible cats don’t get too close. 

One night after he comes in from being let out, he sees Ruby dangling over the crib with an evil glint in her eye. 

“Leave her alone,” Castiel orders as he draws himself up to his full height.

“Or what?” Ruby purrs. 

“What are you going to do about it you impotent mutt,” Meg hisses from behind him. 

“I am _not_ a mutt,” Castiel growls. 

“Maybe not,” Ruby says as she slithers down to the ground on his other side. “But you’re certainly our bitch aren’t you doggy.”

He snarls then, feeling the years of training and his good grooming slipping away. Meg pushes the last of his buttons by swatting at his tail. He launches at her then, teeth bared and mind gone. They roll around the room in a ball until the Aunt comes in and uses a broom to beat him into the corner and off the monsters she calls her “little babies.”

That’s how Castiel ends up in the pet shop downtown, being fitted for a horrible contraption the Aunt calls a muzzle. It’s tight and scratchy against his face and he whines and struggles as he tries to rub it off. When it becomes clear that he can’t remove it, Castiel backs away from the people frantically jerking and yanking on the cage around his face. 

He finally stumbles out the door of the shop and out into the street. Frightened by the hustle and bustle of the cars and humans, he takes off at run away from that horrible woman and the misery of his current life.

*****

Dean doesn’t see Castiel escape. But word on the street travels fast in their town and Dean always has an ear out for gossip. It’s how he survives. 

A well-groomed chocolate cocker spaniel running down the city streets without a human and wearing a muzzle is kind of a big deal. 

It’s the muzzle that throws Dean. He only knows of one socially isolated, sort of huffy chocolate cocker in the area and Castiel certainly wouldn’t require something like that. It’s curious enough that he goes to check it out himself, following word of mouth and his own nose to the alleyway behind the barber shop, where he sees Castiel’s unmistakably adorable ass hanging out the back of dilapidated box. 

“Hey Gorgeous,” he comments as he strolls closer. “Didn’t think you missed me enough to make your way all the way out here to find me.”

There’s a frightened yipe from the box, but Castiel slowly extracts himself to turn wild eyes toward Dean. 

“Oh,” Dean breathes when he sees the contraption strapped on the other dogs face. “What happened?”

Castiel whines high in his throat and though Dean knows Castiel doesn’t particularly like him, the cocker creeps on his belly close to Dean’s side and burrows close, seeking comfort.

“It’s okay,” Dean assures him as he sniffs at Castiel’s face and tentatively licks at a scrape rubbed raw from the muzzle against Castiel’s cheek. “I’ll take care of you. You can trust me. You’re Sam’s friend and Sam’s my friend so you can trust me I swear. I’ll fix this.”

He keens loudly when Castiel drops to his side and tries to expose his belly in submission. Something is just not right about this dog that prefers humans to his own kind. He reeks of rejection and shame. Dean hates the smell on him. Castiel should only smell like sweet, warm things. “Get up, Castiel,” Dean whines. “You don’t have to do that for me.”

“It hurts,” Castiel whispers as he regains his feet. “Please take it off.”

Dean inspects it carefully. “I can’t,” he finally says and nuzzles Castiel reassuringly when the other dog quivers. “But I know someone who can. Follow me, we’ll get this thing off you and I’ll get you some food.”

“Where are we going?” Castiel asks as he follows closely to Dean while they weave and creep through the back alleyways and yards. They end up entering a drain system and squeezing through some bars. 

“I have a friend that works in demolition,” Dean comments. “He’s cranky and gruff so don’t let that bother you. But he does good work and that thing on your face shouldn’t be a problem for him.”

Dean grins as they reach the enclosure. “Hey Bobby,” he barks. “I got something for you.”

“Go away idgit,” Bobby calls from his pool. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“You’re always busy,” Dean huffs. “But I think you’ll like what I’ve got when you come over here and look at it.”

Bobby slaps his way out of the pool and Dean chuckles as the grumbly old beaver scoots his way across to the far wall where they are crouched. Bobby takes a sharp look at Castiel hiding behind Dean’s shoulder and blurts. “You brought me a dog. What the fuck am I going to do with a dog, boy?”

“His name’s Cas,” Dean barks. “And it’s not him I’m talking about. It’s what’s on his face.”

“Well come out here so I can see you,” Bobby orders and Cas moves around in front of Dean to meet the beaver. If it weren’t for the hesitant look Cas shoots Dean as he goes by, he would have thought the cocker was in complete control of the situation. 

Cas sits totally still as Bobby uses his hands to check the muzzle over, only whining when he pulls a little too hard against the broken skin on his cheek. Dean lets out a low growl. He knows Bobby doesn’t mean it but there’s something about this spoiled dog that Dean likes, that Dean wants to know more about, and he doesn’t want Cas hurting. 

“I can get it off easy enough,” Bobby comments as he sits back. “But tell me why I should bother.”

“Please,” Cas barks. 

“You owe me,” Dean reminds him. “That and I think you can find a good use for it. It looks sturdy enough.”

There’s a world of meaning passing between them before Cas whines and shifts again at his side. 

“Alright,” Bobby snorts. “Let me at it.”

It only takes a moment for the beaver to bite through the leather. Dean’s laughing as Cas rubs his face against the soft grass in the enclosure and groans happily. He looks over and sees Bobby dragging a log behind him using the muzzle as a loop and pulley system. 

“Come on,” Dean says as he nudges Cas with his nose. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

*****

Castiel watches as Dean leads him to a back alley and barks at a door hidden next to the dumpster. He crouches as a man comes and grins down at Dean. 

There’s some kind of communication between them and Dean comes back to his side as the man goes back into the building. 

“What’s happening?” Castiel asks.

“Dinner,” Dean answers with a smile. “We have a system. They make the food and I keep the rats away. So I eat on the house as a reward.”

“But you don’t live here,” Castiel presses. “Where’s your home?”

“Don’t have one,” Dean shrugs before he shakes out his fur. “I make my place where I can. It’s not a bad life.”

“It sounds horrible.” Castiel shudders. 

“Being trapped in one tiny space in the world and not being in control of anything sounds horrible,” Dean shoots back. “Your humans tell you when to eat and sleep and go to the bathroom. You do something they don’t like and they strap your face in a cage. I go where I want when I want and do what I want. You tell me which one of us has a horrible life Cas.”

“It’s not like that,” Castiel argues, turning his face away and scratching at his ear. “That woman who is keeping me is not my family. My family would never have done that to me.”

“You can’t trust humans,” Dean snorts even as the man returns with a huge plate of food. 

He sounds sad and Castiel finds himself leaning forward to press his nose against the other dog’s neck. Dean freezes under the attention and mewls softly as Castiel inhales his scent. 

He’s surprised by how pleasant the stray smells, crisp and clean with just a hint of something else, something just Dean has that Castiel likes. 

They eat mostly in silence while the human returns with an accordion and plays them a song. Castiel finds himself relaxed and distracted by the amazing smells in the night air as he looks around and sees maybe a glimpse of the freedom Dean has been telling him about. He’s not paying attention as he chews his food and finds his nose suddenly pressed to Dean’s.

His eyes snap open wide before Castiel sighs and relaxes into the moment. When he blushes and turns his face away he feels Dean lean forward and nuzzle the exposed line of his neck. 

Castiel’s never wanted a partner before. He’s never thought there was anything good about sharing his space and attention. But here, tonight, there’s nothing he would like more than to have Dean take him home and agree to never leave. 

He spends most of the walk back to his home trying to think of a way to ask Dean to stay. 

It’s probably how he misses Dean’s frantic barking for him to run and hide as the car approaches and the man jumps out and grabs Castiel. 

“DEAN!” Cas barks as the man drags him back to the car. “ _DEAN!!!_

It only takes the aunt a few hours to get him home. Castiel finds himself chained to a tiny cold doghouse in the back yard. It’s not being ejected from his home that crushes him so badly. It’s the information he learned from the other dogs in the pound about Dean’s promiscuous nature. Dean would never stay with him. Castiel thought that maybe there had been something special between them. But that isn’t true. No one’s special for Dean. 

Certainly not a sheltered, reserved, spoiled dog like Castiel. 

“Cheer up kiddo,” Gabriel huffs as he uses Sam’s larger stature to help him get over the fence. “She’ll be gone soon and your family will make this all seem like a bad dream.”

“Yeah,” Sam offers as he leaps the fence separating their yards with only a few moments of having his gangly limbs tangled up.

“It’s not that,” Castiel sighs. “It doesn’t matter. I’m a fool.”

“Cas,” Dean whines as he sneaks in from a different part of the yard. “I’m so sorry. I tried to warn you, but the dog catcher was so close and then he had you before I could do anything.”

“Go away,” Castiel growls. “I don’t want to see you.”

“Why not?” Dean asks as his tail drops and his shoulders hunch. “We had such a good time.”

“Yes,” Cas snaps angrily. “Like you’ve apparently had a good time with Lisa, and Ellen, and Jo, and Rufus, and nearly everyone else I met at the pound tonight!!!”

“Oh,” Dean whines. “I see. It’s not like that. You have to believe me. I’ve been around, sure. But there was never anyone I was really interested in. Not like you.”

“Go away,” Castiel snarls. “Look at what knowing you has earned me. I’m chained to a box in my yard. I’ve lost my home. You’ve done enough, now leave!”

Sam whines out a low pained sound as Dean slinks away. Castiel turns his watery eyes away from the scene, only to see a large rat slinking across the gutter on the top of the house and creeping in the window. 

“A rat!” Castiel exclaims. “No! The baby! Help me! Gabriel, there’s a rat in the baby’s room. The baby!!” 

He jerks against the chain the binds him, choking himself until he gags while he struggles to stop the horrid animal from hurting the pup his family loves so much. 

Gabriel runs for the house and slams his way through the doggie door that Castiel usually uses. There’s barking and hissing from inside. Sam follows close on his heels, snarling but too big to fit through the opening. 

“The cats,” Sam barks to Castiel. “The damned cats have Gabriel.” 

Castiel thrashes, barking and snarling against his bindings. Sam runs back to tug and yank on the chain, digging into the dirt to try and dislodge it. Castiel is frantic, foaming at the mouth in fear. The noise from the house gets louder as the aunt begins to scream and Gabriel’s barking and growling gets louder and louder. 

“Dean!” Sam howls “ _DEAN, DEAN_!!!!”

The stray comes flying back into the yard looking around frantically. “There’s a rat!!” Castiel barks. “It went in through the window! It’s in the baby’s room Dean. Protect the baby, please!”

Dean squeezes through the dog door and Castiel cries with relief when he hears the aunt screaming about another dog and Gabriel snarls out over the cacophony, “GET THE RAT! I’VE GOT THESE BITCHES.”

The chain pulls so tight that Castiel sees stars for a moment and then he’s free and running to help as fast as he can. Sam stays in the yard howling in encouragement. 

The baby’s crying, the basket tipped over, but a quick check assures Castiel that it’s fear and not injury making it cry. Dean has the rat in his mouth and is shaking it furiously when the aunt comes in behind Castiel’s back and clubs him with a broom. 

Dean gets knocked into the closet and locked in. She drags Castiel barking and snarling into the basement and locks the door. 

He’s down there so long he barks his throat raw. When the door is jerked open it’s not the aunt there but his family. Castiel hurries past them, whining and begging until they follow him up the stairs to the ruined nursery. Castiel throws back the ripped down curtains and shows them the body of the rat on the floor. When they come to give him thanks he brushes them off and runs to the closet door scratching and whining to give the credit to Dean. 

When they open the door the closet is empty and Dean is gone. Castiel catches a scent he’s smelled before. It’s the smell of the dogcatcher. 

Castiel collapses in grief. 

*****

“Well aren’t you two cozy,” Gabriel comments as he slips through the opening between their two yards. The family had it put in Castiel’s fence right after the incident with the rat, close to a year ago, and it allows Sam and Gabriel easy access to Castiel’s yard. 

“Shut up short stuff,” Dean grumbles as he lounges on his back in the sun next to Cas’ side. 

Cas greets the heavily scarred little terrier with an affectionate brushing of noses. Gabriel took quite a few hard hits struggling against the cats that night but he’s healed up now and they have never seen Ruby or Meg again. 

“Big day today,” Sam says as he follows Gabriel. “The puppies are getting their first show.”

“They’ll do great,” Dean comments as he stretches. “I’m not worried about it. I’ve found homes for uglier dogs. You included.”

Cas laughs at Sam’s grumpy face. But the bloodhound’s growl is more playful than fierce. 

Dean’s right too. Cas will never forget the morning after Dean had saved the baby from the rat when Cas had though he had lost the other dog forever. The man had slipped away only to return with Dean in tow later in the day. 

He had been embarrassingly overcome with joy and had all but bathed Dean in kisses. Cas had begged the stray to make his home there and give the life of a domestic dog a chance. 

Dean had agreed with much encouragement from Sam. 

They’ve been together ever since. 

Then, several months later the family brought home two more dogs from the pound, only to find them homes and bring home two more. As word of Dean’s good deed and good behavior spread through the community, more humans came and soon Cas’ quiet little home had turned into a somewhat bustling rescue organization. 

So far they’ve found homes for twenty dogs, two rabbits, and even a turtle. Now they just have a group of rowdy adolescents they jokingly refer to as the puppies. It includes a pair of pit bulls, a dalmatian, some kind of spikey haired mix breed, and a cat named Balthazar who thinks he’s a dog. 

He won’t admit to it but Balthazar is clearly Dean’s favorite and Cas secretly hopes he stays. 

He likes having a family of his own, one where everyone is valued no matter their size, breeding, or birth order. Everybody here gets a fair chance to become something wonderful. 

“You look happy,” Dean comments as he snuggles up against Cas’ side. 

“I am happy,” Cas huffs before spending long moments snuffling his partner’s fur and reassuring himself of Dean’s health and contentment. 

“Love you, Gorgeous,” Dean rumbles as he licks at Cas’ neck. 

“Love you too,” Cas snorts before flopping down on top of the other dog and rolling him in the grass while they laugh. 

Life is good.


End file.
